Yes. But first we need to finish the top mounts/camber plates that one should use with them. Also need to play around with a few different spring lengths. The package we are putting together will be an *entire* suspension package (coilovers, wide wheels, *fat* tires, sway bars, etc,.) Basically derived off the One Lap car.

Shiv

 

Personally I think this is a great idea. Maybe I'm wrong but alot of emphasis has been placed on horsepower tuning packages and not a whole lot on suspension tuning. Perhaps because suspension tuning is less understood and seems like black magic to some. It's also much more subjective than engine tuning (if that's possible). I'm interested to see what you guys propose for the person who uses their Evo as a daily driver, track warrior and auto-xer.

 

Shiv - That's great news! Do you plan on offering a variety of wheel that we can select from or will it just be one type of wheel. When do you plan on releasing this package? Also if you had to guess at this time...approx what will be the price for this package? Also will you be giving us the before (stock) vs. this package specs...ie the improvement in slalom speed, lateral Gs, etc?

 

Just installed JIC's a month ago. Strictly autox setup. I left it up to JIC what spring rates they recommended. I told them I did not care how harsh it rides so they gave me 12k fronts/ 10k rears and removed the helper springs. I don't know if it's just me but I don't think it's stiff enough ! So when I do drive it on the street it's just fine!

 

Wow - 12K/10K would be unbearable on the roads I have to live with. I have the "stock" JIC 10K/9K set-up and it's taken two corner weightings, some ride-height tweaking and lots of playing with preload and damping to get my car to the point it doesn't feel like a pogo-stick on a "bouncy" chunk of freeway. It still has more "bounce" than I prefer, but at least it is down to a liveable level now.

I've managed to get all the skipping and most of the bounce dialed out, and my handling is almost completely neutral. I can get the car to rotate and even manage some power-on oversteer, but I think a rear sway-bar increase would still help. The car doesn't "push out" on corner exits any more.

In my opinion, it would have been well worth buying a set-up that had been pre-tuned by the experts. Having a top-notch set-up right out of the box would have saved me months of frustration. After I've burned through these coilovers, I will probably try RRE's or Shiv's set-up.

 

Shiv,

what are you planning to use for camber plates? I just finished my own Ohlins install over the long weekend.

Like you said, these struts are in a class of their own. After some hardcore DMS use, I definately agree. The Ohlins by far are the best coilover in their price range.

I currently have some hacked up cusco WRX camber plates installed on the struts now, but I am also working on a better solution.

So far, I have found camber plates from Cusco, tein, and zeil that would work on the EVO. by looking at the pictures, I think the PDE camber plate will also work.

 

We have our own camber plates that are real close to being done. It will eliminate the coil "boinging" issue that occurs when you turn the steering wheel. Until our plates are done, I'm using the Cusco top hats which have now become so noisey and lose that I'm afraid to drive the car

Shiv, under Dave's account

 

I've heard rave reviews about the RRE tuned JICs (as have been posted in here) and I have Ohlins with custom spring rates myself. The Ohlins have proven to be fairly compliant on the street and they only seem a bit stiffer on low speed bumps. I am waiting for a chance to play with them on the track to see how they do. I believe those two choices are your best bet for a street/track package.

A few other important factors include tires, cornerweighting the car, and your alignment settings. That will play a huge role in how the car reacts, enters corners, grips, etc.

The suspension package idea sounds awesome! You can easily spend tons of money testing setups on the track only to be left with something even worse! A full package would be a great idea for those who don't care to spend the money and/or time to test things out themselves. The time and money spent on tuning these setups is what makes the RRE and Vishnu packages so worth it IMO

Mark

 

I agree Mark!

 

Well said Mark! I've put quite a bit of time into sorting out my (non-RRE) JIC coilovers and while they keep getting better, I've been working on them for almost a year now. At least things are close enough that I'm down to working just preloads and and damping.

One other suggestion for those who like to make their own changes to their car - keep a logbook. It will let you look at what you've tried with what worked and what didn't. Very handy info when you remember something from 6 months ago.

 

Mark how much did you end up dropping for your Ohlins setup without plates??

 

ohlins run aproximatly $2300 depending on the choice of springs.

 

That price is without top hats/camber plates, however.

Shiv

 

this is killing me. I wish someone would put out something that the occasional tracker could install pre-setup.

I had coilovers balanced on my last car, and it still handled like crap. I dont have a set of scales, and finding someone that actually knows what the hell they are doing close to me is next to impossible.Someone put something together so i can spend some money! I am really interested in the Ohlins setup, but i could do a lot with $2300+.

 

I ship pre set up suspensions to people all over the country. My suspensions have been fast everywhere from Watkins Glen to Seattle to California Speedway, info is available at: www.roadraceengineering.com/jicinfo.htm Our suspensions include front and rear spherical bearing mounts, complete alignment and tire pressure specs for your local racetracks and I personally adjust each component to get the most performance out of you and your EVO.